The organizing committee of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games is considering simplifying the opening and closing ceremonies of the events, which have been postponed until next summer, sources close to the organizers told The Yomiuri Shimbun on Tuesday.
As additional expenses could reach several 100 billion yen because of the postponement, the organizing committee has decided it would be necessary to reduce costs by cutting down on extravagant performances at the ceremonies.
The opening and closing ceremonies will be produced by a group of seven members led by kyogen actor Nomura Mansai.
The initial plans developed by the production team were based around the themes of peace and reconstruction from natural disasters. But now, it will need to include an additional element of overcoming the coronavirus pandemic.
While reviewing the ceremonies, some members of the production team expressed their desire to scale down the events.
Reportedly, there are also views that the opening and closing ceremonies for the Olympics and Paralympic Games should be merged and carried out jointly. Keeping these possibilities in mind, the organizing committee and the production team will begin developing more concrete plans.
Chairman of the Japan Medical Association Yoshitake Yokokura said on Tuesday, during a press conference held by the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan, it would be difficult to hold the Tokyo Games if effective vaccines were not developed.
"We hope the government will speed up the development of therapeutic drugs and vaccines. Even if the situation improves in Japan, it will still be difficult [to hold the Games] as long as the infection continues to spread worldwide," he said.
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